


Where I don't belong

by Gay_Natasha_Saves_The_World



Series: the muggle rural american au because I said so [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Muggle, American AU, Anxiety, Fluff and Angst, House Party, Insecurity, M/M, highschool, incidents involving pools, teenage love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 23:48:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29234028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gay_Natasha_Saves_The_World/pseuds/Gay_Natasha_Saves_The_World
Summary: “I’m sorry,” Percy exclaimed. Oliver looked confused for a second.“Why are you sorry? What happened wasn’t your fault.”“I ruined everything.” He sighed, “You would still be having fun at your party if I didn’t fall into the stupid pool.” He could feel the tears coming back. “You should be hanging out with your friends.”“You didn’t ruin anything. I guarantee people are still having fun downstairs. They won’t miss me, Perce.” Oliver tried to explain.
Relationships: Percy Weasley/Oliver Wood
Series: the muggle rural american au because I said so [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2103612
Comments: 6
Kudos: 54





	Where I don't belong

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone I'm on the grind with this series and I don't know why this ended up being so long but hashtag YOLO. anyway, follow Ezmiho on Soundcloud it's a little known fact he was actually at the party and ate a single carrot.

Percy had been with his boyfriend for a fairly long time. It was almost ten months now and they were still happy with each other. But a problem had been plaguing Percy for a while now. It was the fact that he didn’t fit in with Oliver's friends at all.

It wasn’t any fault of Olivers. He would never make him feel left out on purpose. No, it was Percy’s problem. He was the one that wasn’t good at sports, the one that didn’t know any of the video games that they played, the one that didn’t like the restaurants they did. Every time Oliver brought him somewhere with his friends he felt awkward and like his presence was unwanted. If he had to describe how he felt concisely he would say he felt like a burden. 

He would never tell Oliver this. Again, it was his problem to deal with. The last thing he wanted was for Oliver to feel guilty for his own insecurities. He didn’t want to cause a useless argument about it. So he sat there, pretending to be dealing with it when in fact he wasn’t.

His family got over the issue of Oliver’s family owning the only other Christmas tree farm in town a while ago, to both of their delights. His siblings still made fun of him for it but what else was new. He tried to ignore them most of the time.

Overall, things were better for them now if we weren’t counting the thing I spent 3 paragraphs discussing in detail. After all, Percy didn’t. 

Oliver recently got the role of senior captain of the soccer team. To celebrate this momentous occasion he was throwing a party at his parents' house. He was only inviting his friends to keep it somewhat contained. But it will still be a relatively big party, so he was stressed about it. 

Percy offered his assistance to help set up for the party. He hated seeing Oliver stressed about anything and he loved spending time with him. Oliver gladly accepted, which is how Percy found himself at his house at 11 am on the Saturday of the party. 

He was staying the night too since he couldn’t drive and didn’t want to bother Oliver nor his parents with driving him home late at night. His parents were hesitant at first. It wasn’t a surprise that they weren’t keen on letting him stay at his boyfriend's house overnight but they soon caved, not wanting to pick him up at an ungodly hour. 

His siblings however were much less discreet about the obvious insinuation staying at his boyfriend's house for the night brought. Giving each other suggestive glances and snickering amongst themselves. Percy quickly left the room before he had to hear another one of Fred and George’s god awful innuendos. They had already made ones about Charles Dickens and Emily Dickenson this week and he didn’t want to hear the ones that took more effort. 

But now he was at Oliver’s house trying to move furniture with him so stuff wouldn’t get destroyed. Besides that, it also opened up the room a lot more. This task took a lot more effort than either boy had anticipated. They sat down for a while after everything that needed to be moved was moved. 

“I have no idea why I’m even throwing a party,” Oliver sighed. “I mean I’m happy about being captain and all but this is probably the worst idea I’ve ever had.” 

“Don’t beat yourself up about it. You’ve had plenty of worse ideas and will continue to have worse ideas in the future.” Percy joked. “Oh shut up, you’re not helping,” Oliver said, trying not to laugh.

“But, in all seriousness. You don’t have to worry about it. It’s only people you know, after all.” Percy tried to be genuinely comforting. “I guess, but it’s just all so much I didn’t need to put on myself,” Oliver explained

“Everything will be fine, Ollie. The party will go on without any major incident, we’ll clean what we can when it's over, and then we won’t have to worry about it anymore.” Percy leaned into his boyfriend while he was speaking. Oliver nodded in response. 

It seemed like Oliver was never 100% sure of himself. Sometimes he would take 5 minutes to make a simple, inconsequential decision. He hated it so much. He was a goalie, for God's sake! He should be able to make split-second decisions and be sure of himself. But he wasn’t.

He was glad Percy was here to help him with it, at least. He always knew what to do when Oliver didn’t. He could logically sort things out when Oliver was too panicked to do it himself.

It was just around 7 pm when people started showing up. They got a chance to chill for a few hours after they set up at least. Oliver played a video game while Percy started reading Emma for what seems like the 100th time. They enjoyed being close to each other even if they were doing drastically different things. 

But now there were other people there. Other people that wanted to have a fun party. The two got separated rather quickly as Oliver went to talk to his friends. Percy was honestly at a loss for what to do. 

Parties weren’t really his scene. They were usually cramped and dark and loud and smelled bad to his experience. Plus, as was mentioned earlier in the story, he didn’t really mesh well with Oliver's friends. He tried to find a semi-quiet place to continue reading because it wasn’t realistic that he could stay with Oliver throughout the whole party. 

Percy knew damn well he looked like the quirky self insert character in a one direction fanfic on Wattpad but he couldn’t honestly care less. He did get a fair share of weird looks from people but again, he couldn’t care less. 

Oliver went to check up on him a few times throughout the night. Percy insisted he was fine but was still glad he could see Oliver even for a few minutes. 

Besides Oliver, only a few other people talked to him. They either asked if he knew where the bathroom was or tried to make awkward conversation. There were two boys, who Percy thinks were named Theo and Christian, who asked about his book. It was obvious that they didn’t actually care so Percy only responded with the bare minimum. 

About 30 minutes later Percy felt a wave of anxiety wash over him. It seemed to come out of nowhere, but it felt like the walls were closing in on him. He had to get outside that instant. He closed his book and started to walk outside before he got too disoriented to do anything. 

Luckily there were fewer people outside. The air instantly made him feel better. It was obvious that he wasn’t having the best time at the party. He wanted to have fun, he really did, but it was hard. He was around people he wasn’t necessarily comfortable within a situation he wasn’t necessarily comfortable in. 

The pool was uncovered. No one was in it because it was dark and cold. He didn’t understand why they would put the effort to uncover and clean everything when they knew no one was going to want to swim. But they couldn’t just undo the effort they put in so it was there. 

Percy hated pools more than anything. He never learned to swim, he was too scared to even go near it when he was a child. His siblings teased him about it, but there was no way he would go into a pool unless he were forced in. Standing next to the pool was doing nothing to help his sudden anxiety. I mean someone could accidentally bump into him or push him in purposefully. He had to get away from the-

In a matter of milliseconds, he found himself submerged in the water. The anxiety turned into full-blown panic. He knew that if he could just stand up he could get his head at least above the water but how could he? His glasses had flown off with the fall and he was hoping with everything he had that they weren’t broken. He didn’t bring his back up pair, God, why didn’t he bring his back up pair?

That wasn’t important now, what was important is that he couldn’t see anything and the chlorine-filled water was burning his eyes. He didn’t dare to take a breath in, he didn’t want a similar sensation on the inside of his body. How long had he been underwater? Did anyone even notice what happened? 

He was too caught up in his own mind to notice someone had jumped in until they grabbed him. They started pulling him up. Once they broke the surface Percy took a few panicked breaths. He still couldn’t see but he knew the person who got him was Oliver. He was trying to calm him down but it was obviously not working. Percy couldn’t possibly relax until he was out of the pool. 

Slowly, Oliver led Percy to the edge and helped him out. The coldness of the air hit him hard but at least it was better than being in the pool. Oliver got out after him and ran to the patio table to get a towel that he set out. He draped it over Percy before jumping back into the pool to retrieve his glasses. 

Soon enough, Oliver swam back over to Percy with his glasses and got out right next to him. By some miracle, the glasses weren’t broken just wet. He quickly wiped them off with a semi-dry part of his towel. At least he could see now. 

He turned to see Oliver looking at him with an expression of utmost concern. It was just now sinking in that this incident caused a scene and that almost everyone who was outside was looking directly at him. He needed to get away at all costs. Luckily, Oliver caught on to the panic that was starting to set in again.

“Do you want to go somewhere else, Perce?” Oliver whispered. Percy quickly nodded. Oliver nodded back and led him to his room. 

People that were inside had no idea what was going on, so they were quite confused to see Oliver and Percy rushing past everyone to go up the stairs while both of them were soaking wet. But looking strange was last on both of their minds. 

When they reached Oliver’s room, Percy finally started to relax a little bit. He did have dry clothes he could change into. They were his pajamas but it wasn’t like he was gonna show his face for the rest of the night. Not after he ruined the party for practically everyone.

He quickly got changed trying not to think of anything else. Maybe once nothing on him was wet he’d feel better. The awful sensation of wet clothes clinging to his body was not helping his current mental state in the slightest. 

He didn’t have the presence of mind to realize that Oliver was also in the room until he was just about to put his shirt on. When Oliver kissed his cheek after he changed from his wet clothes. 

“Don’t worry, Perce. I’ll handle everything.” Oliver whispered to him even though no one else was in the room. He couldn’t help but notice slight anger in his voice. That’s what finally sent him over. 

Once Oliver closed the door Percy felt tears running down his face. He knew he ruined the party for him and probably for everyone by extension. He wanted nothing more than to disappear. He felt extremely pathetic and useless. Standing alone in his boyfriend's room, still without his shirt on, crying to himself.

All the thoughts that he had about their relationship when it first started were coming back into his mind like an avalanche. Most were about how Oliver deserves someone who was so much more than him. It would honestly be a miracle if Oliver stayed with him after tonight. 

He tried to calm down. He didn’t want Oliver to see him like this when he came back to his room. If he came back to his room. But nothing he tried was helping. He felt completely and utterly worthless. 

Okay, deep breath in, deep breath out. If he can’t stop himself from crying, he can at least put his shirt on. After all, it was his favorite shirt ever since he got it. Once it was too worn to wear in public he retired it to his pajama drawer. There wasn’t anything particularly special about it, but it brought him comfort. Which was exactly what he needed right now. 

It seemed like he had been alone for a long time. Percy had finally managed to stop crying, thank god, but it was still super obvious he was. He was starting to actually wonder if Oliver was gonna come back or just leave him. He couldn’t really blame him if he did. 

It was only about two minutes later when Oliver came back again. Percy was a bit startled by the sound of the door opening. It startled him a little bit but he was glad to see Oliver hadn’t forgotten about him. He was just hoping he didn’t look like the mess he felt like. 

He walked over to his bed, which Percy was sitting on, and sat right next to him. He had brought him some food they had put out and a bottle of water. 

“Sorry, it took so long. Marcus was already dealing with Theo and Christian but everyone was stopping me to ask what was wrong.” He explained while he was scooting closer to Percy. 

“It’s fine really.” His voice was hoarse and that’s when Oliver realized he was more shaken up than he thought he was.

“Perce, you don’t have to be fine. If something’s wrong, please tell me.” Oliver put his hand on Percy’s arm. Percy was trying to think about what to say. Oliver wasn’t gonna let him say he was just fine but he didn’t feel like getting into everything he was feeling. But he needed to say something.

“I’m sorry,” Percy exclaimed. Oliver looked confused for a second.

“Why are you sorry? What happened wasn’t your fault.” 

“I ruined everything.” He sighed, “You would still be having fun at your party if I didn’t fall into the stupid pool.” He could feel the tears coming back. “You should be hanging out with your friends.” 

“You didn’t ruin anything. I guarantee people are still having fun downstairs. They won’t miss me, Perce.” Oliver tried to explain. 

“It’s just not fair that you can’t even enjoy your own party because of me.” Percy shrugged, trying to calm himself down again. He hated feeling like a burden which is exactly how he felt right now. 

“Perce, look at me,” Percy hesitantly turned towards him. “I am sincere when I say I don’t mind hanging out up here with you. I wasn’t even having that much fun. You don’t need to worry about it, okay?” Percy nodded in response

They spent a couple of moments in silence. Neither of them really knew what to say. Oliver was sure that Percy wasn’t telling him something. He was never really open about his emotions no matter how much he wanted to be. 

Percy had moved closer to Oliver, allowing himself to calm down a little bit. He’d stop crying but now was just a bit tired. He still felt a bit guilty about everything. It had been about 30 minutes since it happened. 

The party was still going on downstairs without either of them. Percy tried to find any hint that Oliver was regretting staying up here with him but he couldn’t find any. It didn’t make much sense to him. While he was trying to figure it out Oliver started to say something.

“Remember the Halloween party last year?” He asked to break up the silence. Percy laughed a little a nodded. 

“Yeah. I was Mr. Bingley and you were Mr. Darcy,” He sighed, “I also remember I thought it would be one of the worst ideas ever.” 

“But everything turned out fine in the end.” Oliver rebutted while turning to look at Percy. He nodded in response. “I still don’t understand what you were so worried about.” 

“I guess I was just scared that your friends wouldn’t like me.” Percy looked down at his fingers. 

“Why wouldn’t they like you?” 

“I don’t know,” He shrugged, “I’m nothing like them at all.” 

“Just because you aren’t the same as them doesn’t mean they don’t like you.” Oliver tried to laugh it off. But Percy wasn’t really accepting the answer. “And even if they didn’t like you, it wouldn’t matter because I like you.”

“You don’t understand.” Percy scoffed. Oliver looked confused.

“Then help me understand, Perce,” He cried out. “I wouldn’t make you do anything that would make you uncomfortable.” 

Percy was hesitant. He knew he backed himself into a corner and into a conversation he didn’t want to have. But he didn’t want to lie to Oliver either. He had to come clean about his true feelings. 

“You know I’ve never been very confident with myself especially when it came to our relationship,” he explained, “I have to admit that sometimes I still wonder why you’re with me.” Oliver tried to say something but Percy continued talking.

“When I started hanging out with you and your friends, the feelings did intensify. It became more obvious how different we are. I just have a hard time believing that they could ever enjoy my company and it just makes me feel awkward and unwanted.” He put his head in his hands. “I’m sorry it’s just…”

“Please don’t apologize, Perce, you didn’t do anything wrong,” Oliver said, holding Percy close to him. “I knew that you were insecure about yourself and I’ve done everything I could to show you I genuinely like you for who you are.”

Percy nodded in response. “You don’t have to worry about my friends. I guarantee they don’t hate you. Remember that one time we were going to go to the arcade but you got the flu so you had to bail?” 

“Yeah,” Percy responded

“When I showed up without you, everyone was asking where you were. I’m pretty sure Marcus even said I was boring without you.” Oliver started to laugh which caused Percy to laugh too.

“I just don’t want to lose you, Ollie. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.” Percy confessed after the laughter died down. 

“Percy Weasley I will never stop loving you.” He peppered Percy’s face with kisses. Percy started to blush intensely at the action. No matter how many times his boyfriend did it, his body always had the same reaction.

They stayed up in his room for the rest of the night. A few of his friends texted him and said they were cleaning stuff up for them (and that Emma was still on the stairs where Percy left it). There was nothing left to worry about but themselves. It was early in the morning when Percy had drifted off the sleep. And who can blame him? It was an overall exhausting day.

Oliver was still semi-awake and fully enjoying the feeling of Percy sleeping right next to him. It was something they never got the chance to do but something he hoped they would get to do again. 

It seemed impossible but Percy looked even more beautiful. Perhaps it was the moon illuminating his face ever so softly, or the peacefulness which had fallen over him, but Oliver wanted to savor the sight for as long as he could. 

But the siren of sleep was singing to him and he soon fell victim to the song. Not that he was complaining. He slept better than he had in years with his boyfriend in his arms. No matter how much went wrong during the day, right now was just perfect. There was nothing else either of them could ask for.


End file.
